by Ali McNamara
‘Come on, Miley,’ I tell her, as we turn away and head purposefully for the house. ‘We are going to pay Mrs Harrington-Smythe a quick visit.’
Thirty-nine
Orchid – Refined Beauty
Miley and I stand calmly on Caroline’s doorstep and ring the bell.
Johnny answers again. He’s holding a large glass of red wine.
‘Good evening, Johnny,’ I say in my best polite voice, trying not to look at the wine. ‘I’d like to speak with Caroline if I may?’
‘Er… she’s with someone right now,’ Johnny says, looking hastily behind him.
‘That’s OK,’ I say, walking straight past him into the hall. ‘I can wait.’
‘Johnny, what is going on out there?’ Caroline calls, appearing from a room to the left of their large hallway. ‘Do we have another guest? Oh, it’s you, Poppy,’ she says, and her smiling face immediately tightens into a scowl.
Jake follows her into the hall.
‘Poppy,’ he says, acknowledging me as Miley scampers across the floor from my arms to his. ‘What are you doing here?’ He gives me a meaningful look.
‘Has she given you your picture back yet?’ I ask calmly.
‘Actually I was just about to go and get it for Jake.’ Caroline looks between the two of us suspiciously. ‘But now I’m not so sure…’
Jake pulls a face that suggests by charging in unnecessarily, I’ve messed everything up.
‘Oh, you’ll get it for him all right,’ I say, my voice much calmer than I feel. ‘And you’ll fetch Lou’s picture of the sweet pea, and Stan’s picture of the forget-me-not while you’re at it. And,’ I say before Caroline can interrupt, ‘the letter from Queen Victoria too.’
Caroline’s face gives nothing away.
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ she says, glancing quickly at Johnny.
‘Oh, I think you do. You see I found your homemade cellar in your garden just now, with a little help from Miley.’ I wink at her, sitting happily on Jake’s shoulder again.
‘So? We’re allowed the odd glass of wine, aren’t we?’ Caroline lets out a nervous laugh. ‘What’s wrong with that?’
‘Nothing, nothing at all, if the wine you’re drinking hasn’t been stolen from someone else’s cellar!’
‘Johnny, remove this… person from my house!’ Caroline waves her hand limply in my direction. ‘I don’t need to stand here listening to these ludicrous accusations. I have more important things to do with my time.’
‘Like steal pictures? Yes, we know,’ I say as Johnny looks at me but doesn’t make a move. ‘I’ve seen the wine in your pretend cellar, Caroline. It’s Trecarlan’s wine. And we both know how I know that, don’t we?’
‘Johnny!’ Caroline shrieks suddenly, making Miley jump with fright and hide in Jake’s arms. ‘I told you to change the labels, but oh no, you said no one would ever see them!’
‘Would someone please tell me exactly what is going on here?’ Jake asks.
Caroline turns away with her arms folded while a shamefaced Johnny stands looking like he always does – good for nothing.
‘Seems it’s down to me to explain then,’ I say, eyeing them with contempt. ‘Now, where to begin… How about we start with the fact you stole bottles of vintage wine from the cellar at Trecarlan Castle, bottles that had their own unique Trecarlan labels attached to them, and you began doing this when you found yourself, as chair of the Parish Council, left in charge of the house?’
Caroline doesn’t flinch, but Johnny drops his eyes and stares intently at a threadbare patch on the carpet.
‘Or how about when you were down in the cellar, stealing the wine, you just happened to find a package containing an embroidered picture of a forget-me-not, together with a letter from Queen Victoria, which you realised on further investigation might be worth rather a lot of money, if you could only find the other three pictures in the set?’
I wait for a response from Caroline this time. She scowls, but says nothing.
‘OK… how about when you spoke to a few of the more – how can I put this kindly – gossipy older members of the Women’s Guild, you found out what might have happened to the other pictures, and that they might still be in the vicinity. But when you started your search you couldn’t even find the one you knew was most likely to still be in St Felix… the one that belonged to my grandmother.’
Caroline twitches slightly, but still doesn’t speak.
‘You looked, Caroline, didn’t you? You looked hard to begin with. That’s why you lost interest in the shop after a while and let the other ladies of the Guild take over and run it, because you couldn’t find what you wanted in there. In fact, I think you gave up looking for the pictures altogether for a while, until you happened to be in Lou’s house one day and saw her picture, isn’t that right?’
Caroline turns and glowers at me, but she still won’t say anything to incriminate herself, so I continue:
‘But you couldn’t take Lou’s picture of a sweet pea off the wall there and then, could you? No, Lou would have immediately noticed it was gone and been suspicious. So you waited, and your chance finally came when Lou was decorating and removed the picture herself. Then you suggested that the Women’s Guild hold their next committee meeting at her house, and hey presto! the picture of a sweet pea is suddenly yours.’
‘Caroline, is this true?’ Johnny asks, shocked.
Ah, he must have known about the wine, but not the pictures.
Caroline looks guiltily up at him and nods.
‘Shall I continue?’ I enquire.
‘There’s more?’ Johnny asks in astonishment.
‘Only a few more loose ends to tie up,’ I tell him. ‘The jumble was the next thing, wasn’t it, Caroline? You must have gone out and bought several lottery tickets the day the picture of a pink carnation, the third in the set, found its way into your house accidentally in a box of jumble!’
‘And then you,’ Caroline hisses, spinning on her heel to face me properly, ‘you, Poppy Carmichael, had to come along and ruin it for me. I should have known it would be a Carmichael that would spoil everything. You always do! Tattletales, aren’t you? It’s in the blood.’
Jake and Johnny both look mystified now as they listen to us.
‘Trecarlan Castle and those embroideries would have been mine anyway if it wasn’t for the Carmichaels sticking their noses in where they’re not wanted. I wouldn’t ever have needed to go looking for four stupid pictures if I’d inherited what was rightfully mine in the first place.’
‘What is she talking about?’ Jake asks me.
‘Tell you later,’ I whisper. I don’t want to stop Caroline when she’s in full recriminatory flow.
‘Stanley Marrack,’ Caroline says scornfully, ‘didn’t deserve to be living in a wonderful house like Trecarlan. He was using it to host a debauched gambling ring – did you know that about your precious Stan, hmm?’ she asks me. ‘It was about time the Marracks got their comeuppance. So when the authorities happened to find out what was going on, he had to leave the castle in disgrace, just like my ancestors did. And the sweetest part about that was, he had to come to me, a Harrington, and ask if the Parish Council would look after the castle. It was the ultimate revenge.’
‘It was you!’ I exclaim. I hadn’t worked that part out. Actually, a lot of what I’d said over the last few minutes had been complete guesswork, but it appeared I had got it spot on if Caroline’s reaction was anything to go by. ‘You were behind the anonymous tip-off! And,’ I cry as something else occurs to me, ‘you were the person that locked me in the cellar, weren’t you?’ I shake my head. ‘I can’t believe you did all this because of some piece of ancient history, some feud between our families that’s centuries old.’
‘Some people never forget, Poppy,’ Caroline says, quite slowly and deliberately this time. ‘Some people take their families very seriously. Unlike you, it would seem, neglecting yours for years on end.’
‘You
see, that’s where you’re wrong, Caroline,’ I respond in an equally determined voice. ‘I take my family very seriously. What you’ve forgotten is that Stan is my family, every bit as much as Rose was. And no one messes with my family. No one, do you hear. Especially not a Harrington!’
‘I can’t believe you did that,’ Jake says as we walk back into St Felix under a gorgeous salmon pink sky. He’s holding Miley and I’m clutching my bag, which has three small embroidered pictures of a pink carnation, a sweet pea and a forget-me-not, along with a faded letter from Queen Victoria zipped safely inside. ‘You were amazing back there.’
‘Perhaps,’ I say, trying to sound calm, even though I can still feel myself shaking.
‘I thought you went incredibly easy on the Harringtons, considering it was Stan’s home they were plundering. You’re usually so protective of him. I think I would have just called the police.’
‘If they don’t come through on their promises, I definitely will. I bet Woody would be in his element getting to the bottom of all this.’
‘Ha, he would that,’ Jake says.
‘But what’s the point in causing more problems? I don’t want this ridiculous feud carrying on down the generations. Especially now we know Stan does have a family to pass things on to – he has grandchildren!’
Jake nods. ‘Yes, it would seem so. We’ll have to go and see him though, and talk to him about all this before I tell the children.’
‘Of course, I’ll need to go and tell him about the pictures too. He’s going to be overjoyed to see them. Best of all, if our plan comes together, he won’t have to sell them!’
Jake grins. ‘That was crafty, Poppy. When will you tell him about that?’
‘When the time is right.’ I wink. ‘I’m just so happy for him. A family is all Stan’s ever wanted, and now he has one.’ I sigh. ‘Life is good, Jake. Very good.’
‘You know I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy?’ Jake says, stopping and turning to face me as we reach the harbour. Miley jumps from his arms and scampers over to investigate an empty coffee cup blowing along the path. ‘When I first met you, you were so down about life, so sad. You tried to cover it up, but I could see past all that. You see, I’ve been there and worn the I’m fine T-shirt too.’
I smile at Jake. How did he know me so well?
‘You were one feisty lady, Poppy, and you’d bite at the tiniest of things. But you’ve changed since you’ve been here, changed for the good. I really think St Felix has healed you, just like we said it could.’
‘Do you really think I’ve changed that much?’
‘Definitely. Last night at my party you looked beautiful in your pale blue dress. But it wasn’t the dress that was making you look like that, it was you, Poppy. This will sound very corny, but you’ve blossomed since you’ve been here. Blossomed into a beautiful, intelligent and caring young woman.’
‘You’ve told me enough times I should wear more colour,’ I reply lightly, attempting as always to deflect a compliment. ‘Maybe I actually listened for once!’ But I’m very aware of Jake moving closer to me. It’s like the moment in his greenhouse all over again. I can feel his breath on my face, and see his laughter lines at the corner of his eyes, mixed with more prominent lines caused by worry and heartbreak. ‘Your analogy before, very clever, considering my name.’
Jake screws up his face so even more lines appear. ‘Oh, I’ve just realised what I said – about a blossoming Poppy! That makes me sound even more old-fashioned and corny than you probably already think I am.’ His head drops, but I put my hand under his stubble-covered chin to tilt it up again.
‘Don’t be silly,’ I tell him. ‘I don’t think you’re old-fashioned – or old, for that matter. I like it that you think about me in the way you do – I always have. I like the fact you’ve noticed I’ve changed, because that’s true too.’ I pause for a moment. ‘I also like you very much, Jake —’
But I’m prevented from saying more because suddenly my lips are otherwise engaged, as Jake presses his soft, warm mouth to mine.
I’m beginning to relax and enjoy this feeling of being so close to Jake once more, when he pulls away.
No! Not again…
‘I’m sorry, Poppy, I shouldn’t have done that,’ Jake says, looking shocked.
‘No, it’s good,’ I tell him, moving towards him. What could be wrong this time? I wanted Jake and Jake wanted me – it was perfect.
‘No, it’s not good… you’ve got a boyfriend.’
Oh. I realise I’ve kind of forgotten about Ash in the heat of the moment, and it’s very hot indeed where I’m standing right now. Even the breeze coming off the sea as the waves splash up against the harbour wall next to us isn’t cooling my ardour.
‘Ash and I aren’t really serious,’ I tell him. ‘We’re just friends… with benefits, if you know what I mean?’ I cringe; that was the term Ash had used about Jake.
‘But still, you shouldn’t be kissing other men.’
I have to admit I quite like this ‘proper’ side of Jake.
‘Even if I enjoyed it?’ I say seductively as I lean forward to kiss him again, but our lips don’t quite meet before I hear someone calling my name.
I turn and look into the hazy light of the evening, and it’s then I see Amber hurrying towards us along the harbour front. Immediately I know there’s something wrong.
‘What is it?’ I ask, breaking free from Jake and rushing towards her.
Amber’s face looks terrible, and she’s very pale.
‘Amber, what’s happened? I thought you were going on a date with Woody tonight?’
Amber puts her hand on my arm.
‘Poppy, it’s Basil…’
Forty
Michaelmas Daisy – Farewell
Through a blood-red sky, as the sun finally sets on St Felix, Amber, Jake, Miley and I rush back to the cottage and into the sitting room, where we find curled up in his basket what appears to be a sleeping Basil, with Woody kneeling down next to him. Woody immediately stands when I come into the room.
‘I’m so sorry, Poppy,’ he tries to say as I barge past him to get to Basil.
‘Basil?’ I say softly, kneeling down next to his basket. ‘Wake up, Basil.’
I reach out to stroke him but he doesn’t flinch, his always warm body, which I’d cuddled into many a time since we’d known each other, is already beginning to feel cold.
‘He was quiet in the shop all afternoon,’ Amber says with tears in her eyes. ‘After I’d taken him back to the cottage, Woody and I decided not to go out because we were worried about him. But then Basil seemed to rouse a little, and he even managed some of his dinner. He seemed quite happy before he curled up in his bed to go to sleep, didn’t he, Woody?’
Woody nods furiously.
‘We decided to stay in and watch a DVD anyway,’ Amber says, ‘so we didn’t leave him. But when I got up to check on him halfway through the movie, I realised something was wrong. I tried to wake him, but he didn’t respond. I tried calling you, Poppy, several times.’
‘My phone was on silent,’ I tell her weakly. I’d switched it off while I was in Caroline’s garden.
‘So when we couldn’t get hold of you, Woody went out to look for you, didn’t you?’ Amber turns to Woody, and he puts his arm gently around her shoulders.
‘We think he must have passed away in his sleep,’ Woody says, visibly upset.
‘He looks very peaceful,’ Jake says, passing Miley to Amber. He kneels down next to me, and pats Basil on his side. ‘The old fella had a good life. And a happy one too.’ He puts his hand on my shoulder. ‘We’ll need to call the vet, Poppy. It’s too late for them to do anything, but they need to know.’
‘No!’ I cry, flipping his hand away. ‘No, he can’t be dead, he’s Basil, he’s always with me. He’s my friend.’
I try again to wake him, but his eyes remain closed, his expression peaceful, like he’s having one of his long naps after he’s had his dinner.
‘Oh, Basil,’ I sob, cuddling one last time into his fur. ‘You were the only one that really understood. The only one that I could tell everything to. What will I do without you?’
My tears fall on to Basil’s body, and are immediately absorbed into his brown and white fur.
Jake stands up and fetches a blanket from the chair.
‘He’s at peace now, Poppy,’ he says gently.
‘Yes,’ Amber says, crouching down next to me with Miley. ‘He’s gone to be with your grandmother. He’ll be happy again. You know how much he missed her.’